How to Convection Roast a Boston Butt

Pork Shoulder with Herb Crust

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Pork butts get laughs for their name, but in reality a butt is the pig's shoulder. The Boston or shoulder butt is cut from the upper back shoulder blade of the pig's front legs. Cooking with a convection oven differs only slightly from conventional ovens. Convection ovens use radiant heat circulated through the oven by a fan to cook, Heather Tyree writes for Epicurous.com. This browns meat more evenly and cooks it faster. To accommodate convection's power while using a recipe for conventional ovens, you should lower the cooking temperature 25 degrees or reduce the cooking time by 25 percent.

Preheat your convection oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cover a rimmed baking sheet in aluminum foil and rub 1 tbsp. of olive oil on the foil with your fingertips or a paper towel.

Set the Boston butt on the center of the baking sheet, with the fat side up.

Measure 2 tbsp. of olive oil and lightly drizzle the roast with olive oil. Rub the oil into the roast with your hands. Sprinkle a liberal amount of salt and pepper over the top of the roast to season.

Insert the roast into the preheated oven and cook 30 minutes.

Reduce the oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit and continue roasting for at least three additional hours. Use your thermometer to check the temperature periodically. The roast is done when a thermometer measuring the temperature in the middle of the roast reads 190 degrees Fahrenheit.

Remove the roast from the oven and let sit for 15 to 30 minutes to rest.